PARADOX OF USING MANAGEMENT ACCOUNTING ARTIFACTS: A DISCUSSION ON THE INFLUENCE OF UNCONSCIOUS FACTORS INSPIRED IN THE CONCEPTS PRECONIZED BY THE ANALYTICAL PSYCHOLOGY

Abstract

This paper was developed in order to provide elements that contribute to a better understanding of the accounting professional posture, which may elucidate some possible reasons for the existent paradox between the theoretical knowledge and the adoption of management accounting artifacts, through unconscious factors, under the inspiration of the concepts preconized by the analytical psychology. Through the critical-reflective analysis performed, it was pondered that: [1] in the managerial accounting there are repetitive and mechanistic habits and routines, constituting its own collective unconscious, dominated by archetypes, difficult to be modified; [2] Jung’s archetypes The persona and The shadow represent the disclosed or withheld information, respectively, in management accounting; [3] Jung’s The anima and The animus archetypes show the gender relations in management accounting; [4] The self is shown as the decision point constantly sought. It is also noteworthy that the present theoretical paper has academic and professional implications for the accounting science, regarding the posture the accountant in the decision-making process.